Conservatism In Australia
Conservativism in Australia was a disparaging epithet used by radicals and Laborites and claimed by few until the late 20th century. Hirst says that as a strong movement, conservatism is "a very recent arrival in Australia. John Howard, who became prime minister in 1996, was the first holder of the office to describe himself as a conservative."
Today the terms covers similar political issues as found in other Western democracies. In the early 20th century the self-styled "liberals" had connections with radicals and reform movements. However as Howard, the Liberal prime minister 1996-2007, has argued, the Liberal Party became the trustee of both the classical liberal and conservative traditions. That is it combines "liberal" (market-based, pro-business, anti-union) economic policies with conservative social policies.
Read more about Conservatism In Australia: Political Parties, Republicanism, Further Reading
Famous quotes containing the words conservatism and/or australia:
“There is such a thing as caste, even in the West; but it is comparatively faint; it is conservatism here. It says, forsake not your calling, outrage no institution, use no violence, rend no bonds; the State is thy parent. Its virtue or manhood is wholly filial.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is very considerably smaller than Australia and British Somaliland put together. As things stand at present there is nothing much the Texans can do about this, and ... they are inclined to shy away from the subject in ordinary conversation, muttering defensively about the size of oranges.”
—Alex Atkinson, British humor writer. repr. In Present Laughter, ed. Alan Coren (1982)